- All ensignias and decals have both english and Japanese writing on them;
- Has orange turn signals installed on the rear bumper, to comply with Japanese laws of the day (79 Mustangs had all-red tail lights from the factory)
- The factory installed seat has adjustments to raise and lower the height of the seat, as well as the standard forward/backward tracks.

We know the seat is factory installed, because when they took it out to check the mechanism (standard guy practice, gotta take it apart to see how it works ) the factory build sheet was found tucked into the springs. On the build sheet it is clearly marked "For Japan Export".

The car is in mint condition, and has the 5.0L engine/C-4 auto tranny combo. It's not heavily optioned, but is all original and all stock.

Any ideas of how many 79 Mustangs were exported to Japan?? Who could I contact to find out this info? The owner would just like a bit more details on the particulars of Japan-export cars to help determine a price before the car goes up for auction.

Thanks for any advice/help you can give on this!

But, have you looked on the Ford web page? I wonder if there might be a link or something that could direct you, or maybe a phone number you could call where someone at the factory could either help you or give you idea's where to look.

Just a thought.

quote:

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Originally posted by Stewart:
Ian, did you find anything out?

Stewart

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So far nothing that would be useful. The funny thing is that the VIN on the dash is different from the one on the build sheet and the door, yet the car has no accidents as far as their records go (and it is fairly well documented). The VIN on the build sheet and door match, however. Strange. We are wondering if it got re-VINed at some point for reasons unknown (being that we have traced it to 3 different countries so far... Germany, Japan and then New Zealand). The door tag data seems to match up with all of the options and features on the car. It's a little mystery (aargh, and just after I solved the 302 identification puzzle, this one is going to bug me until I find an answer now!! ).

Also, rarity and desirability are two different things. May not be a terribly desirable car to most, although I'd LOVE to have it.

I did some more digging and worked on the codes and come up with this information on the car (from the VIN on the dash and the VIN on the door tag/buildsheet, as they are different). Interesting, as you will see, as the VIN on the dash is obviously from another car (this car is a coupe and the dash VIN is for a hatchback). The code for the seats on the buildsheet (TM2) is circled, and is different from the codes that I have seen on other buildsheets of the same vintage. I have no clue what these codes actually stand for, but I thought that it was interesting that it was highlighted from the factory! Here's what I have been able to decifer so far:

Dash VIN ? 9F03F17****
9 ? 1979
F ? Dearborn assembly plant
03 ? 3dr hatchback
F ? 5.0 litre 2V V8 140 hp
17**** ? Consecutive build number

Door/Buildsheet VIN ? 9R04F10****
9 ? 1979
R ? San Jose assembly plant
04 ? 2dr Ghia
F ? 5.0 litre 2V V8 140 hp
10**** ? Consecutive build number

Door Tag Data

Build Date ? October 1978
Color: 3J ? Bright Blue
DSO: 90 ? Export
Body: 66H ? 2 dr Sedan
Trim: HB ? Wedgewood Blue (not sure about the ?H? code on this one)
Date Code: FBA??? Not sure if this is the correct place for these codes, as they don?t make sense.
Axle: B ? 2.47 ratio ?open? rear differential
Trans.: W ? 3-speed automatic C-4

Buildsheet Data

Body Code: 66H ? 2 dr Sedan Ghia
Paint: 3J ? Bright Blue
Interior: B ? Wedgewood Blue
Region/District: 90 ? Export
Engine: F ? 5.0 litre 2V V8 140 hp
Trans.: W ? 3-speed automatic C-4

The VIN on the dash is bugging me. Accident maybe? Hmmm. The hunt continues.

I wonder if there is any other avenue that I could check with to find out if it is a pre-production build, or some sort of promotional/experiental item? Any suggestions on where to start looking??

Ford Worldwide Direct Marketing Operations
313-594-4857

According to a friend at a local Ford dealer, these folks are in charge of all Ford vehicles sold for export to anyplace other than Canada or Mexico. I hope it helps.